St. Faustyna
one
Today is the Feast of St. Faustyna to whom Jesus revealed the Image, the Chaplet, and the Diary of Divine Mercy, as well as His desire for Divine Mercy Sunday.
From 1925 until her death in 1938, St Faustyna lived an ordinary life as a religious sisters whose jobs included that of a cook, gardener and doorkeeper, except for this…she lived in almost continual visual and verbal contact with the spiritual world - Jesus and Mary, angels and demons, and many saints and souls in purgatory.
Jesus ordered Faustyna to keep a diary of all their conversations to help us learn to Trust in His goodness and mercy.
About the Diary Jesus said to Faustyna: Write down everything that occurs to you regarding My goodness. I answered, “What do You mean, Lord, what if I write too much?” My daughter, be at peace; do as I tell you. Your thoughts are united to My thoughts, so write whatever comes to your mind. You are the secretary of My mercy. I have chosen you for that office in this life and the next life. 1605
At one point, Faustyna burned the Diary as she feared she was being deceived by the devil. But Jesus ordered her to rewrite it. He would at times read the notebooks and then say “You have not written everything in the notebook about My goodness towards humankind; I desire that you omit nothing;” 459
The Diary reveals a deep personal friendship between Jesus and Faustyna. As I read the Diary, I too was drawn into a deep friendship with Jesus. If you read the Diary prayerfully, I’m sure the same will happen to you.
two
The Power of Prayer and Sacrifice
In the Diary (1767) Jesus said to Faustina: My daughter, I want to instruct you on how you are to rescue souls through sacrifice and prayer. You will save more souls through prayer and suffering than will a missionary through his teachings and sermons alone.
First, Jesus wants to use our prayer for the conversion of others. Listen to the testimony of the devil about the power of prayer. Faustyna writes: Taking the form of an apparition the devil said, “Do not pray for sinners, but for yourself, for you will be damned.” Paying no attention to Satan, I continued to pray with redoubled fervor for sinners. The Evil Spirit howled with fury, “Oh, if I had power over you!” and disappeared. I saw that my suffering and prayer shackled Satan and snatched many souls from his clutches.
We all have family and friends who show little or no interest in God and we have great concern for them. Faustyna was no different. She prayed and offered sacrifice vigilantly and God allowed her to see the results to encourage us in our efforts to help them. She writes:
My sister Wanda came to see me today. When she told me of her plans, I was horror stricken. How is such a thing possible? Such a beautiful little soul before the Lord, and yet, great darkness had come over her, and she did not know how to help herself. She had a dark view of everything. The good God entrusted her to my care, and for two weeks I was able to work with her. But how many sacrifices this soul cost me is known only to God. For no other soul did I bring so many sacrifices and sufferings and prayers before the throne of God as I did for her soul. I felt that I had forced God to grant her grace. When I reflect on all this, I see that it was truly a miracle. Now I can see how much power intercessory prayer has before God.
three
The Power of Sacrifice and Suffering
On Holy Thursday 1934, Jesus asked Faustyna to help Him save souls by her suffering. He spoke to her saying: I desire that you make an offering of yourself for sinners and especially for those souls who have lost hope in God’s mercy. (Diary 308)
In response she offered her life as a sacrifice for souls (Diary 309). Jesus said to her in reply: I am giving you a share in the redemption of mankind. (Diary 310)
Not long after, Faustina fell ill with tuberculosis. From that moment until the end of her life, four years later (Oct 5, 1938) suffering was her constant companion (cf. Diary 321).
Close to the end of her life she writes: “Today, I saw the suffering Lord Jesus. He leaned down toward me and whispered softly, My daughter, help Me to save sinners. Suddenly, a burning desire to save souls entered my soul. When I recovered my senses, I knew just how I was to help souls, and I prepared myself for greater sufferings.” Diary 1645 March 25, 1938
four
Every Christian is called to take up his cross and share in the Redemptive work of Jesus.
The most powerful means you have for the conversion of your family and friends and complete strangers is your suffering.
So, do all you can to avoid suffering or to fix it when you suffer. But when you can’t change it – for the sake of the eternal salvation of your family and friends and all souls – don’t waste your suffering. Offer it up and unite it to the suffering of Jesus.
Actually, we can offer up everything as a sacrifice for the conversion of others. We can offer our prayer, work, joy and especially our suffering – all those things
· You did not choose,
· Do not like
· Cannot change
· Cannot understand
· Accept with trust and offer with love to Jesus for the conversion of others
Mother Teresa: Accept what He gives and give what He takes with a big smile
five
St. Faustyna died in Cracow Poland on this day, October 5, 1938. She was 33 years old.
God made known to her that this work of spreading the mercy of God through the Diary, the Image, the chaplet and Divine Mercy Sunday would be misunderstood and rejected for many years. Then she writes: “And then God will act with great power, which will give evidence of its authenticity. It will be a new splendor for the Church…That God is infinitely merciful, no one can deny. He desires everyone to know this before He comes again as judge. He wants souls to come to know Him first as King of Mercy…”
Finally, in 1979 through the efforts of Pope John Paul II, the message of the Mercy of God given through St. Faustyna was brought to light. John Paul instituted Divine Mercy Sunday. And Pope Francis declared 2016 as an extraordinary Year of Mercy. It is of great significance that we live in the age of Divine Mercy. Why? Jesus explained to Faustyna: Before the Day of Justice, I am sending the Day of Mercy. And then Jesus said, “Let the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to trust in the abyss of My mercy…Write: before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice…..”Diary 1146
This is the time of mercy, grace and conversion. After which will come the time of justice. While there is still time, we must do all we can through our prayer, our suffering, and the spreading of the Rosary to help everyone come to conversion.
Now is the time to build your teams. But if that seems impossible – maybe a good resolution today would be to share this podcast with one other person.